Operation Regional Mongoose: Police arrest two boys, another person escapes after chase

Two boys have been charged and another person is on the loose after police made a pair of arrests, including one in a luxury residential community, over alleged property crime on the state’s Mid-North Coast.

The Summit's residential area begins at the bottom of Summit Drive before winding up the hill behind the Big Banana and adjacent to the Pacific Highway.

Two boys have been charged and another person is on the loose after police made a pair of arrests, including one in a luxury residential community, over alleged property crime on the state’s Mid-North Coast.

The arrests were made as part of Operation Regional Mongoose, a high-visibility police operation tackling property-related crime predominantly committed by young offenders.

During that the early hours of Wednesday, in the high-end residential estate known as The Summit in Coffs Harbour, officers from the Coffs/Clarence District Command allege they spotted two young people wearing dark clothing, wearing gloves and face coverings.

The entrance to the upscale residential district known as The Summit in Coffs Harbour.

After a short foot pursuit, officers apprehended a 14-year-old boy and charged him with being armed with intent to commit an indictable offence. He is set to be dealt with under the Young Offenders Act.

Police state the second person escaped and remains a person of interest, with investigations ongoing.

The entrance to The Summit, a high-end residential zone that begins behind the Big Banana.

On the same day, members of the Coffs/Clarence Proactive Crime Team executed a search warrant at a Coffs Harbour address, where they found several items of interest that resulted in a 15-year-old boy being charged with theft, using a motor vehicle without the consent of the owner and breaching bail.

He faced Coffs Harbour Children’s Court and was refused bail.

A view of Coffs Harbour from the top of high-end residential estate The Summit.

Police said a total of nine people, including eight juveniles, had been charged with a combined 25 property-related offences in the Coffs/Clarence district as part of Operation Regional Mongoose since the start of December.

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